Dismissed prothonotary should give up salary

Luzerne County Prothonotary Carolee Medico Olenginski became an officeholder without an office Friday when county Manager Robert C. Lawton relieved her of all duties due to her intransigence over implementing changes mandated by the county's home-rule charter.

The charter, approved by voters in 2010 and implemented in January, includes among its many structural changes a merger of the Prothonotary's Office, which maintains records of civil cases, with the Clerk of Courts Office, which handles filings of criminal cases.

The charter eliminated a number of elected positions, including Medico Olenginski's, but because she was elected in 2009 to a four-year-term, state law requires the county keep her on the payroll, even if she performs no work, at $36,562 per year through 2013. Medico Olenginski filed suit against the county in 2011, arguing her office is a component of the court system and could not be eliminated. Her legal action, rejected by the courts, cost the county thousands in legal costs.

Lawton, appointed by the new county council to oversee county government and effect the changes outlined in the charter, subsequently attempted to utilize Medico Olenginski's expertise in the transition, but she gave him "no reason to believe that you are fully committed to contributing to a solution on terms other than your own," according his letter dismissing her on Friday.

Medico Olenginski reacted with an email to the media that branded Lawton a "dictator" and "con artist."

Medico Olenginski has always styled herself a maverick at odds with the powers-that-be at the courthouse. Despite her sometimes intemperate nature, that attitude had value under the old regime, dominated as it was by an unethical and unaccountable cabal of county officials, many of whom have served or are still serving prison terms on corruption charges.

However, now that voters have imposed reforms, her antics have curdled into mere self-aggrandizement.

If Medico Olenginski is unwilling to work with Lawton to implement the changes voters have approved, there is no room for her at the courthouse and in the spirit of public service she has so often espoused, she should give up her annual salary.

The voters spoke in 2010, Carolee. It is time to acknowledge that fact and move on.

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